Being Pretty
by Chocolate and Drama
Summary: There is a fine line between wanting to feel nice and being vain. Four- year- old Ashley and Helen have a talk about being pretty.


Dude dude nubbin falls into head. bites me. says ' WRITE ME!" I say, " Okay, okay!'  
Hence- Being Pretty. Enjoy.

Helen Magnus was in a flurry. One of her employees wedding was in a few hours, and they were no where near ready. She hurriedly pinned in an earring while calling for her daughter.  
" Ashley! Where are you?" She frowned as she looked for the four year old. She sighed as she checked the kitchen. There was her daughter, with a large purple stain on what had been a very lovely, clean dress. With only a few minutes to go, Ashley had to get dirty! She grabbed a napkin and tried with vain to slow the spread, and try to calm down her sobbing daughter. Why on earth was she so sad? Normally Ashley had no qualms about getting dirty, especially in nice clothes.  
" Ashley, please calm down. Please, hush! Why are you crying?"  
The red-faced blond stopped her tears long enough to look down ashamed at her dress and choke. " I mussed my pretty dress. Now what am I going to wear to the wedding?"  
" It's okay! We'll find you something else to wear! And Mrs. Rebecca won't mind us being late." But none of this was calming down the girl who just tipped back her head and wailed again.  
" Ashley, please, what's the matter!" She was losing her patience.  
" I looked so pretty and now Gina is going to-" Then she stopped herself, looking more ashamed.  
" What is it dear?"  
Ashley shook her head.  
" Please Ashley, you can tell me."  
" Gina said that I'm not pretty and I thought that maybe if I was dressed up I would look pretty." She look down, embarrassed, swishing her dress. " But you always say you shouldn't care about how you look..."  
"Oh Ashley! I meant you shouldn't focus on how you look all the time! It's okay to want to look pretty. And Gina doesn't know what she's talking about. I think you're much prettier then Gina."  
Her daughter looked at her confused, but grateful at the complement. Magnus sighed, drawing the sniffling girl into her lap, and took a deep breath, trying to explain.  
" You shouldn't care so much about how you look that it takes over your life. You shouldn't be worrying about how you look every single moment of the day, or judge people on how they look. It's okay to want to feel pretty."  
" I think I get it. But I still spilled grape juice on my dress."  
Magnus smiled, a wave of nostalgia overtaking her. She had some more dresses that might fit Ashley, they might be a little old fashioned but they would work, especially for a girl who liked princesses.  
Ashley gasped as her mother pulled out the old dresses with a smile. Helen's own mother had made each dress with care, intent on her children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren being able to wear them. Her heart ached for a minute as she watched Ashley's face light up when Helen held up one of them to investigate them for damage. None. Her mother may have never been able to see it, but her grandchildren would be able to wear them.  
" It's so beautiful! Just like a princess dress!" The look on Ashley's face was priceless as she tenderly felt the lace.

Luckily they managed to arrive to the wedding on time. Ashley held her head up high as they walked into the church. She had been swishing and smoothing her dress ever since she had put it on. It was the first time Helen had ever seen her daughter so excited about clothes. They slipped in near the front and Ashley gently smoothed her dress before sitting. A dark haired girl with a fancy dress glared at her, and Ashley's smile became impossibly wider. That must have been Gina. Ashley sat perfectly still and tall and Helen's attention drifted from her daughter to the wedding march that was starting to play, and Rebecca, all grown up and radiant in her gown, coming down the aisle at a measured pace.

`  
She felt just like a princess in the pretty dress her mum had let her use. She was especially careful not to muss it, because mummy had said her grand mummy had made it for mummy when she was a little girl a long, long time ago. It was so pretty with lace and silk! She walked carefully, trying to walk looked like her mummy had said princesses had to learn how to. She spotted Gina up near the front. Her mouth dropped and her eyes narrowed when she saw Ashley. But it didn't matter too much. Mummy thought she was pretty, and her mummy knew better then Gina did anyway. She sat down slowly and carefully, trying not to wrinkle the dress. Miss Rebecca came down the aisle with a really pretty white dress on. Wow, did she look nice! Miss Rebecca smiled at her and she smiled back. It was a good thing Miss Rebecca was getting married to Mr Evan, 'cause they really really liked each other. Ashley had seen them kissing in a closet. They liked each other so much that Mr. Evan had been helping her get undressed, which was nice. She had left then to give them some privacy. She smoothed her dress some more as the priest began to drone. Maybe Mr. Evan and Miss Rebecca were going to have babies, so Mr Evan would be a daddy, and Miss Rebecca would be a Mommy, and maybe she could play with the children. Too bad her daddy wasn't still alive because then she'd get to show him her pretty dress that mummy let her wear.  
" I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."  
Everybody in the church started cheering as Miss Rebecca (but now she was Mrs Rebecca) kissed Mr. Evan. Ashley cheered too, and forgetting all about acting like a princess, left her seat whooping to help the others throw rice on the new couple.


End file.
